Bear Witness II: The Family
by Mag Carter
Summary: Sequel to Bear Witness. It's the real beginning of this mess. Find out Anne/Donnie's history, why she doesn't like telepaths, and an assortment of other wonderous and nefarious things.
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: These characters that your about to see? Yeah, I don't own them. They're Marvel's.

Lucky439, Chris-X, Ishandahalf: I really appreciate your enthusiasm for the story guys. Thanks for reading. (Oh, and Chris, to find out where I'm from, read my profile.)

Harry: Your kind words and insight are always welcome, thanks.

Neurotic Temptress: Cyke is always paranoid. Is it well-founded? I dunno, we'll see. My muse rarely speaks coherently. Thanks for the spelling correction as well. And I don't think I did mention it in my last story, but no, they're not twins, and that's all I'm sayin'.

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Needless to say, Rogue had had a very eventful day and fell into a deep sleep at its end. However, it was not a dreamless sleep.

Her dream was very white, and very bright, filled with seemingly endless halls of doors. Men and women in fresh white uniforms rushed up and down the corridor, oblivious to her presence. She walked down the hallway, looking in through the tiny windows on the doors. Each room held a man or woman, breathing but lifeless. Their eyes stared blankly at the wall before them. Finally, she came to a windowless room. In the windows place was a peep hole. She peered through it.

The lights flickered, giving the room an eerie feel. Between flashes, she could see a figure with dark hair. They were hunched over and seemed to be rocking back and forth. She reached for the handle, it was hot. She turned the knob, it gave, slowly.

The room itself was freezing. She could see her breath in between the flickers, causing her to see it as though through a strobe light. The figure was muttering something. The voice was distinctly feminine.

"I will wait…I will wait…he will come…" she said this repeatedly and much like the men and women in the stark white halls, the girl didn't notice Rogue. Suddenly the girl stood. She was staring straight at Rogue and she could see her more clearly. She was ghostly pale and extremely thin and her bones jutted out at odd angles. She had deep black circles below a pair of blood red eyes and ragged black hair. And on her forehead, between her eyebrows was a bright red diamond. The flickering lights made her all the more frightening.

The girl struggled forward, straining against the chains that held her in place and pulling at the straight jacket that wrapped her arms around her waist in warped sense of self love. She had an unnatural glare to her eyes.

Two men passed by Rogue and grasped the girl around the shoulders forcing her back into the chair. The girl screamed and kicked at the men, flailing her head at odd angles. Rogue could only stare in horror. One of the men jabbed a needle into the girl's arm, causing her to yelp once again. Realizing she had little time, the girl made eye contact with Rogue again.

"Protect them Marianna, protect them with your life," she pleaded as one of the orderlies pushed Rogue out, "No matter what it takes…"

Rogue awoke with a start, clutching the sheets to her. As an afterthought, she glanced over to Remy to see if she had awoken him. Luckily, he was still asleep. Her mouth felt very dry. She swung her legs around and onto the floor, careful not to wake her husband. She put on her slippers and her nightgown and crept quietly out the door and down the stairs. She made it down to the kitchen and halfway through her glass of water, she had a terrible thought. She put the glass down and rushed to the lower levels. As she suspected, Beast was still up, working on some new theory. When did the man sleep? She knocked lightly on his door, causing him to give a slight glance in her direction.

"Ah'm not interuptin' anythin' am Ah?"

"No, of course not," he assured her and he waved her into the room, "my door is always open. What is it that you need?"

"Well, Ah was thinkin'…"

"At three in the morning?"

"Couldn' sleep. Anyway, Ah was thinkin' an' the thought came t' me: 'What would happen to the baby if Ah used mah powers?'"

Beast thought for a moment, "You mean of course while your pregnant?" She nodded. "I really don't know. It may or not be harmful. I would assume that the baby would develop a type of immunity or protection to your powers, but this is all speculation. There are, of course, tests I could run, but I doubt any of them would be very conclusive. My best advice to you is to avoid using your absorption powers as much as possible throughout your pregnancy. You may also wish to consult Tante Mattie in the morning seeing as she knows more about these things than I do."

She sighed and nodded.

"I really wish I could be of more help, Rogue, really, but I simply do not have the experience."

"What about the nul-fields?"

He shook his head, "They may be more harmful than your powers. I have recently discovered some very unnerving information about cell degeneration among youths. Prolonged exposure can cause a variety of problems that I am unwilling to risk."

"Thanks Hank, Ah'll talk to Mattie in the morning."

He nodded and went back to his work.

Rogue did talk to Mattie the next morning over breakfast. The old woman chewed thoughtfully over her words for a few minutes. Finally she swallowed, took a sip of water, and cleared her throat.

"I t'ink petite, dat mot'er nature anticipated dis little problem an' gave de enfant some protection 'gainst yo' powers, but all de same, I t'ink yo' doctor be right. Don' use yo' powers less you have to, oui? Don' know what effects it might have."

Rogue nodded, "Thanks Mattie."

"No problem, petite, now tell me 'bout dis dream you had last night."

Rogue stared at her in shock, "How'd you know?"

"Simple, not'in' get past me, now what was it like?"

Rogue explained her dream very carefully to her while the woman spoke very little and nodded occasionally.

"Somebody tryin' t' tell you sumt'in', dough I'm not too sure what dat be. 'Dem' could be anyone or anyt'in'. Could be de X-men, yo' family, children, books, anyt'in'. You gonna have to interpret what de images mean t' you girl. Den you know who you supposed t' look after."

"Ah don't know, Ah think Ah knew the girl from somewhere, but Ah can't remember foah the life o' me where."

"It's alright girl, you figure it out in time."

Rogue nodded and left the table with her dishes. She saw Remy by the kitchen door, a smirk on his face. She squinted her eyes at him.

"You told her 'bout mah dream, didn' you?"

Gambit's eyes widened, "I…"

"It's alright," a voice reassured from behind her, "I wormed it out o' him. I could always tell when Remy was worried 'bout sumt'in'."

Gambit shrugged, "I knew sumt'in had you spooked last night, but I just let it go an' pretended t' sleep cuz I knew you'd tell me 'bout it when you were ready."

"Always such a sweet boy," Mattie muttered as she shuffled past, "troublemaker, but sweet."

Remy's face reddened and Rogue smiled. Remy scratched the back of his neck and smiled back. Stomachs full, the two set out to do their daily tasks.

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I realize there's not much drama here right now, but there will be. I'm sorry if it's a tad fluffy, but they're newlyweds for gods sakes! Also, I'm not going to do much with Miram either. I just thought it was silly for a woman as old as Mattie to be traveling by herself and she seems like a sensible enough person to know it. One more thing, I'm not going to spend too much longer on Rogue's pregnancy, because, as we all know, the really good stuff comes when the bouncing ball of trouble comes in. So within the next two chapters, we will see Baby Lebeau. There'll be a lot of jumping in this story so get used to it. Don't worry, I'll warn you ahead of time. 'Til next time, go review or I shall send angry hoards of midgets to steal your brain pans!


	2. A Nice Surprise

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men okay? Just leave me alone! *sobs*

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"I don't know nothing 'bout birthin' no babies," Beast exclaimed in his best southern accent. 

"Hank, yoah supposed t' be the resident doctor."

"And I am, Rogue. I can make sure the baby is healthy and help you if there are any problems during the pregnancy, but when it comes to actual childbirth, I have no experience or training. You'd be better off in a normal hospital."

"Hank, Ah'm a mutant, what do you think they're gonna do if Ah go to a normal hospital?"

"There are the X-corps facilities."

"Ah don't trust anyone else!"

Beast sighed, "I will do what I can, Rogue, but if anything goes wrong, promise me you'll see an obstetrician?"

She nodded reluctantly.

"She may not have to," Remy chimed in, "I know a good midwife, I'll talk to Poppa an' see if she can do it."

Beast raised an eyebrow, "You know a midwife? Dare I ask how?"

A look of shock spread across Gambit's face, "Remy don' have no children, not yet at least," he said as he smiled at Rogue. "She an old friend o' de family, dat all."

"Remy," Rogue began, "Yoah family, you know they don't like me much."

"Don' worry 'bout it chere, she not too particular 'bout much o' anyt'in'. She deal wit' people, not guilds. Dere be a difference. I need to be callin' Poppa anyways, let him know de good news." He smiled again and kissed Rogue on the cheek. "We sort dis out, don' you worry. Ain' good fo' you." He winked at her and left medbay. 

"Always the scamp," Beast remarked, "I don't think you'll ever work it out of him."

"Ah wouldn't dream o' tryin', Hank."

Two days later, a knock came at the mansion door, which set the team on edge. Nobody came up to the door, they couldn't get past the gates normally. It was a security measure. This was not right. Cyclops went to the door and opened it slowly, only to reveal an ancient little black woman. She stared up at him with piercing eyes and nodded.

"Dis be de place," she stated as she shoved past Cyclops, "Come on girl, we ain' got all day." A younger woman pushed past him, following the old woman. "Remy!" she called out, "Remy, where are you boy?!"

Gambit came running into the foyer and a grin erupted from his face as soon as he saw her. He rushed to her and picked her up in a friendly hug.

"Tante Matte!" he cried as he set her down, "I didn' s'pect you so soon, ot'erwise I woulda picked you up from de airport."

She smiled at him, "It's alright Remy, your Poppa had someone waitin' fo' me. He figured you might be too busy."

"Never too busy fo' family, Matte."

She nodded, "Now where is dis chile?"

"Right here," Rogue said as she stepped forward, "You must be the midwife Remy promised."

"I be more dan a midwife, but fo' you dat be enough. Well, le's have a look at you. Dere someplace we can sit down? My poor feet had 'bout enough o' dis travel business."

Rogue laughed, "Right through here Matte," she took the older woman's hand and led her into the lounge.

"Come along, Miram, you need t' learn dis." The younger woman picked up her bags and hurried to catch up.

Gambit came alongside Matte, "Who de fille?"

"I'm trainin' a replacement."

His eyes widened. 

"I be gettin' old, Remy. I know I can' do everyt'in' I used to. Sooner or later, I'm gonna have to step down, an' I know I can' live forever."

Gambit nodded, "I understand."

"Good, now le's have a look at dis chile." She sat down beside Rogue and put her hands on each side of Rogue's face, turning one way and then the other. She looked her figure up and down and examined her hands. "Stand up," she requested, and she set her head against Rogue's stomach, as if listening for something. She lifted her head and then placed her hands on Rogue's hips, then turned her around and felt the muscles and bones in her back. "You can sit back down." Rogue sat again and looked questioningly at the old woman.

"I'd say you be about t'ree weeks into it. You're pretty healt'y an' I don' see anything wrong right now, but dere will be problems."

"What kind o' problems?" Rogue asked, slightly panicked.

"Not'in' to bad. Prolly just some mornin' sickness an ot'er minor t'ings. Not'in dat'll hurt you. It won' be an easy birt' dat's fo sure. You got slim hips girl. Not'in t' do 'bout it really. Petit won't be goin' hungry dough," she stated, glancing at Rogue's breasts. She blushed slightly, Remy just smirked.

"Not'in to be ashamed o' chile. Dey make fo' healt'y babies." 

Rogue smiled a little. "That's all really good t' hear, but how did you know all o' that?"

Matte smiled back, "De way your muscles are tensed, de rhyt'm o' your heart, de way you walk, de set o' your eyes, an' about a dozen ot'er t'ings."

Rogue stared at her in complete amazement. "I told you she was good, chere," Gambit grinned. Rogue simply nodded.

"I'm not good, I just know what I'm doin'. Do you mind?" she asked Rogue, indicating Miram in the chair next to Matte.

"No, not at all." Matte gestured for Miram to join her on the couch. When she sat down, Matte took her hands and placed them on the small of Rogue's back.

"Dere, feel dat? How de muscles are tensed? Dey getting' ready to deal wit de extra stress dat gonna be on 'em. An' here, de rhyt'm o de heart. It pumpin' extra blood to de womb t' support de life dere. Now look in her eyes, what do you see?"

Miram stared for a moment, "Expectation."

Matte nodded, "Good, dese are de signs you need t' look for. At firs' dey be really faint. Most people can' pick 'em up til de woman in her second trimester, but you be trainin' wit' me. You'll learn t' pick 'em up more easily as we go along."

Miram nodded and helped the older woman up from her spot on the couch. As Matte was leaving, she turned to Remy.

"You know, when dis whole mess settle down, you an' Ms. Rogue should come down t' Nawlins. We really miss you dere."

Remy nodded, "We will." Matte nodded back and left. Remy turned to look at Rogue. She had an odd smile on her face. He raised an questioning eyebrow at her. 

"What is it, chere?"

"Just picturin' you as a boy."

"An' what do you see in dat picture."

"You sittin' in yoah Aunt Matte's lap, bein' rocked t' sleep."

"Now dat jus' ain' fair, cherie. You been inside head before. I don' know not'in' bout your childhood."

Rogue sighed, "Ah'll talk when Ah'm ready."

Remy sighed back and nodded. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and lead her out of the lounge and followed Matte upstairs.

Cyclops had watched the entire conversation from the foyer. The whole thing made him uneasy. No one knew anything about these women but Gambit and he had just assumed that they would be accepted without asking anyone. And no one could be really sure that this woman was who she said she was. It seemed like there was always someone barging into the mansion to stir up trouble. He wanted a telepathic scan on this woman before the day was over. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Scott, stop worrying" Jean assured him. "I've already done it, she is exactly who she says she is. There are no strings, no surprises, nothing. She is simply a very good friend of Remy's. He thinks of her as the mother he never had."

He looked at her, "I hope you're right."

"Ya gotta calm down Cyke," Logan chimed in. "Not every shadow is some chump waitin' to mug ya. Take it easy or y'll die of an ulcer." He nodded to Jean and left. 

Despite their words of comfort, Cyclops still felt uneasy. Only time would tell if his feelings proved true.

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Okay, Tante Matte (If I got that wrong, please inform me) is indeed involved with the guilds. She's an old medicine woman who's been around for a while, and I mean a long while. She's over a hundred years old and is equally caring to both sides. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Until then, please review.


	3. More Dreams

Disclaimer: These characters that your about to see? Yeah, I don't own them. They're Marvel's.

Lucky439, Chris-X, Ishandahalf: I really appreciate your enthusiasm for the story guys. Thanks for reading. (Oh, and Chris, to find out where I'm from, read my profile.)

Harry: Your kind words and insight are always welcome, thanks.

Neurotic Temptress: Cyke is always paranoid. Is it well-founded? I dunno, we'll see. My muse rarely speaks coherently. Thanks for the spelling correction as well. And I don't think I did mention it in my last story, but no, they're not twins, and that's all I'm sayin'.

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Needless to say, Rogue had had a very eventful day and fell into a deep sleep at its end. However, it was not a dreamless sleep.

Her dream was very white, and very bright, filled with seemingly endless halls of doors. Men and women in fresh white uniforms rushed up and down the corridor, oblivious to her presence. She walked down the hallway, looking in through the tiny windows on the doors. Each room held a man or woman, breathing but lifeless. Their eyes stared blankly at the wall before them. Finally, she came to a windowless room. In the windows place was a peep hole. She peered through it.

The lights flickered, giving the room an eerie feel. Between flashes, she could see a figure with dark hair. They were hunched over and seemed to be rocking back and forth. She reached for the handle, it was hot. She turned the knob, it gave, slowly.

The room itself was freezing. She could see her breath in between the flickers, causing her to see it as though through a strobe light. The figure was muttering something. The voice was distinctly feminine.

"I will wait…I will wait…he will come…" she said this repeatedly and much like the men and women in the stark white halls, the girl didn't notice Rogue. Suddenly the girl stood. She was staring straight at Rogue and she could see her more clearly. She was ghostly pale and extremely thin and her bones jutted out at odd angles. She had deep black circles below a pair of blood red eyes and ragged black hair. And on her forehead, between her eyebrows was a bright red diamond. The flickering lights made her all the more frightening.

The girl struggled forward, straining against the chains that held her in place and pulling at the straight jacket that wrapped her arms around her waist in warped sense of self love. She had an unnatural glare to her eyes.

Two men passed by Rogue and grasped the girl around the shoulders forcing her back into the chair. The girl screamed and kicked at the men, flailing her head at odd angles. Rogue could only stare in horror. One of the men jabbed a needle into the girl's arm, causing her to yelp once again. Realizing she had little time, the girl made eye contact with Rogue again.

"Protect them Marianna, protect them with your life," she pleaded as one of the orderlies pushed Rogue out, "No matter what it takes…"

Rogue awoke with a start, clutching the sheets to her. As an afterthought, she glanced over to Remy to see if she had awoken him. Luckily, he was still asleep. Her mouth felt very dry. She swung her legs around and onto the floor, careful not to wake her husband. She put on her slippers and her nightgown and crept quietly out the door and down the stairs. She made it down to the kitchen and halfway through her glass of water, she had a terrible thought. She put the glass down and rushed to the lower levels. As she suspected, Beast was still up, working on some new theory. When did the man sleep? She knocked lightly on his door, causing him to give a slight glance in her direction.

"Ah'm not interuptin' anythin' am Ah?"

"No, of course not," he assured her and he waved her into the room, "my door is always open. What is it that you need?"

"Well, Ah was thinkin'…"

"At three in the morning?"

"Couldn' sleep. Anyway, Ah was thinkin' an' the thought came t' me: 'What would happen to the baby if Ah used mah powers?'"

Beast thought for a moment, "You mean of course while your pregnant?" She nodded. "I really don't know. It may or not be harmful. I would assume that the baby would develop a type of immunity or protection to your powers, but this is all speculation. There are, of course, tests I could run, but I doubt any of them would be very conclusive. My best advice to you is to avoid using your absorption powers as much as possible throughout your pregnancy. You may also wish to consult Tante Mattie in the morning seeing as she knows more about these things than I do."

She sighed and nodded.

"I really wish I could be of more help, Rogue, really, but I simply do not have the experience."

"What about the nul-fields?"

He shook his head, "They may be more harmful than your powers. I have recently discovered some very unnerving information about cell degeneration among youths. Prolonged exposure can cause a variety of problems that I am unwilling to risk."

"Thanks Hank, Ah'll talk to Mattie in the morning."

He nodded and went back to his work.

Rogue did talk to Mattie the next morning over breakfast. The old woman chewed thoughtfully over her words for a few minutes. Finally she swallowed, took a sip of water, and cleared her throat.

"I t'ink petite, dat mot'er nature anticipated dis little problem an' gave de enfant some protection 'gainst yo' powers, but all de same, I t'ink yo' doctor be right. Don' use yo' powers less you have to, oui? Don' know what effects it might have."

Rogue nodded, "Thanks Mattie."

"No problem, petite, now tell me 'bout dis dream you had last night."

Rogue stared at her in shock, "How'd you know?"

"Simple, not'in' get past me, now what was it like?"

Rogue explained her dream very carefully to her while the woman spoke very little and nodded occasionally.

"Somebody tryin' t' tell you sumt'in', dough I'm not too sure what dat be. 'Dem' could be anyone or anyt'in'. Could be de X-men, yo' family, children, books, anyt'in'. You gonna have to interpret what de images mean t' you girl. Den you know who you supposed t' look after."

"Ah don't know, Ah think Ah knew the girl from somewhere, but Ah can't remember foah the life o' me where."

"It's alright girl, you figure it out in time."

Rogue nodded and left the table with her dishes. She saw Remy by the kitchen door, a smirk on his face. She squinted her eyes at him.

"You told her 'bout mah dream, didn' you?"

Gambit's eyes widened, "I…"

"It's alright," a voice reassured from behind her, "I wormed it out o' him. I could always tell when Remy was worried 'bout sumt'in'."

Gambit shrugged, "I knew sumt'in had you spooked last night, but I just let it go an' pretended t' sleep cuz I knew you'd tell me 'bout it when you were ready."

"Always such a sweet boy," Mattie muttered as she shuffled past, "troublemaker, but sweet."

Remy's face reddened and Rogue smiled. Remy scratched the back of his neck and smiled back. Stomachs full, the two set out to do their daily tasks.

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I realize there's not much drama here right now, but there will be. I'm sorry if it's a tad fluffy, but they're newlyweds for gods sakes! Also, I'm not going to do much with Miram either. I just thought it was silly for a woman as old as Mattie to be traveling by herself and she seems like a sensible enough person to know it. One more thing, I'm not going to spend too much longer on Rogue's pregnancy, because, as we all know, the really good stuff comes when the bouncing ball of trouble comes in. So within the next two chapters, we will see Baby Lebeau. There'll be a lot of jumping in this story so get used to it. Don't worry, I'll warn you ahead of time. 'Til next time, go review or I shall send angry hoards of midgets to steal your brain pans!


	4. Waiting

A.N. I never really knew Mattie was so popular, I'm amazed. I mean she wasn't in the books that much was she?

Skye Haerrington: Your favorite fic? *blushes* I'm honored. I hope I do not disappoint. 

Jean1: Interest is very good. Yes. Yes.

T., Lucky 439: I really love you guys' enthusiasm. Very nice.

Chris-X: Sorry 'bout the midgets, I meant no offense. 

Harry: They may well be a forewarning, we'll have to see where my muse takes me.

Neurotic Temptress: One bouncing ball of trouble on the way, and believe me, it's a lot of trouble. ;)

Buckster: Better, you think? Cool.

Disclaimer: Marvel's.

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The months passed by, and Rogue did get morning sickness, but according to Mattie, the baby was healthy. She only used her powers two or three times, and the first was by accident. It had been when she first started getting sick. Logan had come in to check on her because Remy was in New Orleans attending to family matters. She had been startled and absorbed his powers as a reflex. She felt Logan's powers surge through her, and she also felt something faint, underneath his powers, quieter, more discrete. From the lower essence, she perceived feelings of, at first, fear and then comfort and understanding. Then, the fainter presence began to pull back, creating a cycle of thoughts and images. At first, it caught Rogue off guard, but once she had become used to it she became lost in it until she suddenly realized that she hadn't released Logan's powers yet and severed the connection, leaving her feeling empty and alone. She kept this experience to herself, afraid of what might be said or done. Not wanting to feel the void that the loss of contact caused, she avoided using her powers more vehemently. She was forced to use them other times in training, just to keep her skills up, but as the pregnancy progressed, she stuck more to yoga and the breathing exercises that Mattie and Ororo taught her. Three weeks before her due date, she was confined to bed rest, to which she protested greatly. However, after both Logan and Remy threatened to tie her down to the bed with nothing to eat but Scott's cooking and all the videos of soap operas and old Pauly Shore movies they could find for her to watch, she conceded, claiming that it would be cruel and unusual punishment.

Around that same time, Gambit's father, Jean-Luc Lebeau arrived. He claimed it was for moral support on Remy's behalf, but both she and Remy knew the real reason. He wanted to see his grandbaby and wasn't going to wait to hear the news over the phone. Xavier welcomed him with open arms, saying that any member of Remy's family was welcome under his roof.

The two men spent hours together talking, catching up on old times, they said. They took turns with Mattie and Miram, checking on her.

"Ya know, Ah really don't need all this attention, Jean-Luc," she stated to him one day as he was bringing her lunch to her. He simply smiled and set the tray down on the bedside table, then turned to leave.

"What was he like," she asked, "when he was little?"

He stopped, "I t'ink you know more 'bout dat dan I do. You de one dat been inside his head."

She shook her head, "That's diff'rent. Ah just saw things through his eyes. Ah don't know the things that other people saw."

Jean-Luc sighed as he sat down on the edge of the bed. "As you know, I didn' adopt him til he was about eight years old. Before dat, he belonged to de Collector. I took a likin' t' Remy and I didn' really agree wit' de man's hobby so I took de boy from him an' took him under my wing. He's always been a troublemaker, been pickin' pockets since he learned what money was. He was a charmer too, but you know dat." He sighed again, "Dat boy was in an' out a more schools dan I can count. He'd get int' fights wit' everybody. Never his fault dough, boy couldn' help it. He was sweet t' a point dat it got him into more trouble dan good. He'd flirt wit' girls right in fron' o' deir boy friends, he even flirted wit' de teachers!" He laughed. "Dat boy didn' know what was good fo' him. He used t' drive Bella absolutely crazy…I'm really amazed you tamed him."

Rogue's eyes suddenly widened, a look of shock spread across her face.

"I didn' mean not'in' by it Rogue."

She shook her head, "No, that's not it. Ah think mah water just broke…"

Chaos ensued. Jean-Luc ran to get Remy, Remy ran upstairs, Jean managed to send a message to Beast down in the infirmary, and the students pretty much zoned out of class and stuck their heads out the doors to get a glimpse at the pandemonium. Even Xavier was nervous. The only calm ones were Mattie and, to some extent, Miram. 

Beast had set up a no-field around Rogue's bed to prevent any 'accidents' during the birth. Remy sat by her side while Mattie and Miram went to work. And they waited, and waited, and waited still. After about ten hours, Mattie stood and sighed.

"I told you it wouldn' be an easy birth, girl. Miram, keep an eye on her an' come get me if anyt'in' happens, I'm gonna go rest fo' awhile."

Mattie left the med bay and walked into the hallway to be greeted by most of the X-men. The looked at her expectedly. She shook her head.

"Not'in' yet. We in fo' a long wait." As one, their shoulders sagged and they let out a collective sigh. Noticing the scowl on Scott's face, Mattie approached him. She peered deep into his eyes.

"You sense it too, non? I know you do. Dis child be sumt'in' else."

Scott opened his mouth to make a rebuke.

She held up a withered hand, "Don' argue wit' me. I know you don' like me, an' you don' trus' me cuz I'm one o' his kind, but I know power when I see it an' so do you. You been touched by sumt'in'. Sumt'in' dark. Dat kinda presence don' leave. You stuck wit' it…I jus' wonder if you can handle it."

He simply stared at her in amazement as she shuffled over to a chair and settled into a comfortable sleeping position. About an hour later, Miram stumbled from the med bay, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. She rushed to Mattie's and urgently shook her awake. The older woman's eyes popped open and focused immediately on Miram's lip.

"What happened?" she asked calmly.

"She's gone mad!! It be like she possessed Mattie!" The X-men were still recovering from their shock at Miram's disheveled state.

"What d'ya mean, possessed?" Logan demanded.

The young woman simply shook her head and grabbed Mattie's arm, dragging her as fast as she could into the med bay. It was hard to tell, but it looked as though Mattie's feet weren't even touching the ground. Logan and Ororo followed in right behind, joined shortly by Kurt and the rest of the X-men. They were completely unprepared for what they saw.

Gambit lay about six feet away from the bed, unconscious, a bruise forming on his left jaw. Beast took refuge behind an overturned bed, nursing what appeared to be a broken rib.

"You okay, Hank?" Logan asked. He grimaced and nodded slightly.

"I could have sworn my bedside manner was impeccable."

"What happened?" Ororo inquired.

He shook his head, "I have no idea, one minute, Miram was checking her contractions and the next I have a foot in my rib cage."

"And Rogue?" Kurt asked.

"See for yourself," he stated, indicating the room in which Rogue resided.

Kurt turned his head to look, "Mein Gott…" he whispered.

Rogue was floating several feet above the bed, her limbs hung lifelessly at her sides like a rag doll and her head rolled from side to side while various objects in the room drifted around her. She muttered soundlessly to herself. It was almost like chanting. Her head rolled towards Kurt and she immediately straightened when she saw him. Her body tilted upright and she glided towards him. She grabbed him by the shirt collar and lifted him effortlessly into the air.

"Do you know what the future holds, priest?" Her voice had lost all tonality.

"No, Rogue, I do not," he stammered.

"Death," she whispered and dropped him.

Suddenly, her body went rigged. She clutched her hands to her head, screaming, and fell to the floor, unconscious.

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You know I had to. I mean, we haven't had a decent cliffhanger yet in this story. It had to come sooner or later. Better now than later, I think. Besides, it can't always be happy, can it? Makes for dull writing. Sooo, go review!! NOW!!! hehe.


	5. Thoughts and Words

Chris-X: Now calm down, all will be explained, promise.

Lucky439: Cliffhangers are always fun, no?

Harry: *hides behind chair* Geez! I wouldn't even dream of doing that! I know I'm mean, but I'm not that mean! Now put the sword down and enjoy.

Buckster: I love teasing people, it's so much fun really.

Christy S: If I give you a cookie, will you stop guessing like that? You're gonna ruin it!

Neurotic Temptress: About what Mattie said to Scott, if you remember your recent history, Scott was previously possessed by Apocalypse. Now, it is true that he was exorcised, but I don't think that's something you can ever really get over, and that's what she was sensing from him. Hope that answers your question.

Disclaimer: Why do I bother? They're never gonna read this. You know who it belongs to.

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Kurt stumbled to his feet and rushed to Rogue's motionless form. His fingers went immediately to neck. He sat thee, unmoving for what seemed an eternity and sighed.

"Logan, help me move her."

"Kurt, I dunno if that's such a…"

Kurt sprang once again to his feet and grabbed Logan's shirt in one solid movement.

"You help me move her or I do it myself. Do you understand Mein Freund?" he hissed through bared teeth.

Logan nodded and moved to help him. The two men lifted her easily and laid her back down on the bed.

"Mattie?" Kurt beckoned. The old woman approached him. "How is she?"

She leaned over the bed, placing her head on Rogue's chest and a hand on her forehead. "She's fine, a little shaken, but fine."

"And the baby?"

"Also fine. It won't be long now, but all de same, I t'ink we should wake her up an' see if maybe we can get t'ings moving, non? Miram, how's Remy?"

"He'll live," she said as Gambit sat up.

"What happened?" he mumbled as he rubbed his jaw

Scott stepped forward, "A good question. I think we deserve an explanation."

Mattie looked at him squarely, "Like I said, it be a special child. No denying." She turned back to her patient, "Rogue, can you hear me?"

A groan escaped from her lips and Remy was by her side in a flash. "You alright chere?"

"The baby, she…"

"De baby's find, chere…" he stopped. "How can you be sure it's a girl? Henri never told us."

Rogue glanced from Mattie to Remy and back again, "She told me…"

Gambit looked up from her to Mattie, a questioning look in both their eyes. Mattie looked back down at Rogue.

"Come on girl, let's sit you up. Dis baby ready t' be born."

"Ah don't suppose this is what you meant by a hard birth?" Rogue joked.

Mattie laughed and shook her head, "I don' t'ink any o' us had dis in mind, child. Now push."

And so, on July 3rd, 2005, in the early hours of the morning, Lucretia Annabelle Lebeau was born. She had red on black eyes and stark white hair and every single person in the mansion absolutely adored her, even Scott. She was too cute not to. Logan, her godfather, could often be seen reduced to complete and total mush in her presence.

"Dat girl will be so spoiled," Remy commented to his father a few days after her birth.

Jean-Luc placed a hand on his son's shoulder, "Den you will have t' be firm wit' her, Remy. She is your heir. She will be Matriarch when you are gone. Protect her, guide her, and above all, love her, mon fils. She is the future."

Gambit sighed, "I wish you weren' leavin' Poppa."

Jean-Luc sighed in return, "So do I, pup, but I have t'ings t' take care of. You should come down to New Orleans soon, de rest of de family will want to see her."

Gambit nodded, "We will, soon as Rogue gets t' feelin' better."

Jean-Luc nodded, "Well, best not t' keep Mattie waitin'. Goodbye, mon fils, I hope t' see you soon. Take care o' yo'self an' yo' girls."

"I will, Poppa," he said as he hugged him, "Safe trip."

"Always," and he was gone.

Remy turned and made his way upstairs to check on his wife and daughter. Rogue lay sleeping on the bed, Lucretia in her arms. Her fingers were entwined in the baby's slowly darkening hair. As soon as the girl was born, her hair had begun to darken from bright white to what now was a pale gray. Beast expected her hair to be completely black by her first birthday. He suspected it was part of her mutation. Gambit, on the other hand, knew it was, as did Rogue. As Mattie had said, there was something special about this girl.

He sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on Rogue's arm. Her eyes opened, and looked directly at him.

"Can' sleep?"

"Ah wasn't sleepin'. Ah was listenin'."

Remy tilted his head slightly, a confused look on his face.

"Here," she said, placing his hand on the baby's. "Do you feel it?"

There was a slight tug, and then a wash of emotion and images. He could see everything the baby saw, everything she felt. Suddenly, Rogue gasped. His eyes darted to her, and he understood why. He could see himself, sitting across from her, only it couldn't be. Could it? How could he see himself and be there at the same time. Then it dawned on him, just as he could see everything the baby saw, he could see everything Rogue saw…and felt. He imagined it was the same for her. It was like sharing one mind. Then, as abruptly as it had begun, it ended. He stared at Rogue in complete disbelief.

"How?"

"It's how she protected herself from mah powers when Ah was pregnant with her. Ah absorb her energy and she takes it right back."

"Doesn' that hurt her?"

She shook her head, "Ah don't think so. It wouldn't be happenin' if it did. Ah don't think she even knows she's doin' it."

"But how did she…?"

She shook her head again, "Ah really don't know. Ah'm just as surprised as you are. Ah don't even know how t' describe it."

"Neider do I. I t'ink we keep dis to ourselves, until we know more."

Rogue nodded, "She's too young t' be poked an' prodded at."

"Den it's agreed, not a word t' anyone."

"What about Jean and the Professor? They're sure t' pick it up."

"Block dem, like you always have, like we always have. We'll give 'em some t'oughts a course, but not'in' t' let 'em know 'bout lil Lucretia."

"Ahright, not a word, or a thought."

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So what'dya think? Review, let me know. I'll post as often as I can, but I make no promises. I've got more papers due this semester than last. I'll do what time allows. I'm going to be jumping a lot in this story, for obvious reasons. You can't really do much with teeninsy little babies. At least I don't think so. More soon.


	6. What a Mess

Ishandahalf: Yeah, I thought the mush was a nice touch. Big tough guy reduced to absolute adoration = cute as hell.

Cris-X: The favorite author list? I'm honored! *blushes* Thanks!

Lucky439: I can't help but smile every time you review. They're just so happy.

Harry: You have no idea…

Neurotic Temptress: Gang up on me? Hell, they practically beat me up and took my lunch money! On the upside, I know a lot more about the IRA and Aleister Crowley. =)

Christy S: I tried to make them come off as very good parents. As for the not telling someone? *shrugs* We'll see.

Disclaimer: *coughs and points to Marvel logo*

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Rogue awoke from another mysterious dream to the sounds of gunfire and explosions. She looked out the window to see bright glows from the city. Gambit sat up, groggily.

"What's goin' on, chere?"

She shrugged, "Prolly another demonstration by the mutant rights activists. Or it could be one o' the pure human groups. Who knows. All that's fo' sure is that they're makin' a mess a New York."

A cry rose from the next room.

"Lu…" Remy started.

"Ah'm already up, Ah'll check on her."

Rogue entered the room adjacent to her and Remy's. The room had been empty before Lucretia was born and then she and Remy had had a door built between the two rooms so that they could be close to her in case she needed them.

The two year old was standing up in her crib, face red from crying. Rogue picked her up and pulled her close. 

"It's ahright, sugah, nothin' here's gonna hurt you," she whispered as she rocked her. As they had predicted, Lucretia's hair was now pitch black and hung down to her shoulders. The change had turned her from an adorable little girl to an absolutely beautiful child. Logan affectionately called her his 'Little Heartbreaker.' Lucretia would just giggle and hug him around the neck. She didn't speak, just smiled and giggled and sometimes cried. It worried Rogue a little that she never said anything, but Hank said that there was nothing wrong with her vocal chords and to give her time. Some children were late bloomers he had told her. All she could do was sigh and hope she bloomed soon. Suddenly, she receive a telepathic pinprick in her mind.

iRogue, Gambit, the X-men are needed. The police cannot control the mob that has formed due to the attack. Please suit up and meet in the hanger./i.

Rogue set Lucretia, who was now fast asleep, back in her crib. She went back to the room she shared with Remy and pulled a uniform out of the dresser. He was already half dressed by the time she entered. They finished changing and opened the door to the hallway. Jean was standing there, a smile on her face. Rogue smiled back. Jean was five months pregnant, so she automatically got the job of babysitter whenever there was a mission.

"She's asleep, so all you have to do is make sure she stays that way."

"Not a problem guys, be careful."

"We will, cherie," Gambit stated as he kissed Jean on the cheek. "T'anks."

Jean nodded and sat down in the easy chair in Lucretia's room, watching.

Rogue's assessment of the situation had been correct, partially. It was the mutant rights activists, but it was also some pure human group. It was both of them, duking it out in the streets of New York with semi-automatic weapons and heavy artillery. She looked at Remy and sighed. It was going to be one of ithose/i nights.

The group (Cyclops, Archangel, Gambit, Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine) split into three teams and tried to break the two offending groups up. It wasn't easy, and it was messy. There were wounded and dying everywhere and those still standing on their feet paid them little mind. You'd think, thought Rogue, that it'd be easy to pick out the mutants from the humans, but apparently, she was mistaken. It was like one giant mass of fleshy goo everywhere. Right as she was about to rip some self-righteous, self-important activist a new one, Rogue felt a chill down her back. She dropped the man to the ground and scurried away as fast as his feet would take him. She stood there motionless, completely oblivious to the world around her. Something was wrong. 

Across from her, Remy also felt something amiss. He couldn't really pinpoint it, but moved closer to Rogue to check on her. He was just in time too. A psychotic axe-wielding giant was about to give her a haircut that was too close for comfort. He charged a card and threw it right at the man's hands. Unfortunately, he didn't drop the axe as Gambit had hoped, but rather turned his attention away from Rogue, which was good, but now Gambit was his target. The man swung his axe down, missing Remy by inches. He swung again and, again, he dodged. The dance went on for several moments until Remy got tired of his ungraceful dance partner and charged the axe itself. True, the man would probably never use his hands again, but that also meant that he wouldn't try and chop people into little bits anymore either.

Gambit rushed to Rogue and shook her out of her trance. She merely turned to him and said, "Lucretia." The two stopped long enough to tell Scott that there was an emergency and ran back to the Blackbird. At that point the riot was pretty much done with, so Cyclops ordered everyone back to the jet. They were silent the entire way home.

As soon as the plane landed, they leaped onto the hanger deck and rushed upstairs. What they saw, horrified them.

The front door to the mansion had been smashed into splinters. They followed the trail of destruction up the stairs and to the teacher's living quarters, the rest of the team following close behind. A group of students had gathered outside their door. Rogue and Remy pushed past them and stared in terror at the mess. Furniture had been upturned and torn apart. Rogue immediately ran to the adjoining room and stifled a scream as she fell to her knees. Jean was sprawled on the floor, unconscious, but the room itself was unharmed. However, Rogue's focus was not on the room itself, but on the empty crib that lay within. Empty, that which has no content, as in completely devoid of a red-eyed, black-haired two year old. Nothing.

Remy walked in behind her. He as well noticed the crib, but managed to retain some sort of composure. He walked over to Jean and gently slapped her awake.

"Jean, Jean, can you hear me? Jean, what happened, cherie. Where's Lucretia?"

Jean looked up at him groggily, "Huh?"

"Lucretia, de petite bebe. Where is she?"

"She's gone," she muttered as she tried to fall back asleep, "they took her."

"Who took her?" he demanded, shaking her back awake.

"Don't know, didn't see anything."

"You must have seen somet'ing, heard somet'ing! Yo a telepath for gods sakes! Who was it?!"

But she had fallen back asleep, Gambit moved to wake her up again, but Logan stepped forward.

"Yer not gonna get anything outta her, Cajun. She's been drugged. Don't need her to tell you anything anyways. I know who it was. Creed was here."

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And there it is, chapter 6. Now that I have some of my work out of the way, I can get back to a semi-normal schedule. Ha! Who am I kidding? Teachers love to screw us over at the end of the semesters. I'll do what I can. Til then, review!


	7. Searching

Cris-X: Am not! Am not! Am not! Okay, so maybe a little. But it was a good cliffhanger, you've got to admit.

Christy-S: I ain't sayin' nothin'.

Harry: Heh, just wait.

Lucky439: Poor baby? More like poor whoever stole her. *insert evil grin here*

Ishandalf: I won't tell a soul, I swear.

Disclaimer: It's a bird, it's a plane…whoops, wrong comic book…It's Marvel's.

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Logan slammed the tiny man against the wall and snarled at him, "Either you tell us where Creed is or I tear yer lungs out!"

The wheaselish man gasped for air against the force and managed to choke out, "I swear, I don't know!!"

"Yer lyin!!"

"L-l-look," he stammered, "alls I know is that he said he'd be gone for a couple a days and not t' come lookin' for him. Th-th-that's all! I swear!!"

Still holding the man against the wall, Logan turned to look back and Gambit and Rogue. "Rogue, darlin', you wanna do th' honors?"

She cracked her knuckles menacingly and nodded. She stepped up to the man and placed her hands on either side of his face.

"Now you just relax, sugah. This won't hurt…much." She then proceeded to rip through his mind with all her absorption powers, taking every thought and memory she could. Finally, she dropped him to the floor in disgust.

"Pervert!" she spat out.

"He know anyt'in' chere?"

She shook her head, "Nothin', 'cept a bunch a porn sites an' the fact that Creed's gonna kill him when he hears we've been here." She released the man's memories back to him.

Gambit sighed, "Anyone left?"

Logan shook his head, "Nope, we cleared the place out. They'll all be too scared to come back here for a while."

Rogue sat down in a nearby chair, rubbing her temples and sighing. Gambit put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's alright, chere, we find her."

"It's been two weeks already, Remy! She could be anywhere by now, she could even be…"

He crouched down to her eye level and put a finger over her mouth, "Shh, mon amour, we find her, I promise. No matter how long it takes, we find her."

She nodded and stood, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Ahright, Logan, next bar?"

He was standing completely still, "We won't have to, I can smell him."

Rogue and Gambit struggled to keep up with the hairy little mutant, jumping over trash cans and other garbage. He moved with such purpose, you'd think it was his daughter that had gone missing. Cyclops' comm broke the silence.

"Rogue, Gambit, anything?"

"Shh," Rogue hissed into her comm unit, "We've got a lead," she whispered, "we'll let you know if it's worth anythin'." She turned the comm off. "Ah don't want them bargin' in on us, this is personal."

Gambit nodded, "You got it chere," and he turned his off as well.

Cyclops placed the radio down and gave a large sigh.

__

What's wrong Scott? Jean asked.

"They've gone silent, which means they've found him and they don't want anyone help."

__

Would you?

He shook his head, "No, I suppose I wouldn't, but Jean, Creed's a vicious man. He could rip any one of them into shreds."

It was Jean's turn to shake her head, _I doubt it Scott. You've never seen a mother's rage. If anything, I'm scared for Victor._

Logan rounded another corner and met a dead end. At the very back of the alley was an old bar. The light above flickered erratically and hung at an odd angle.

"He's here," he whispered. 

Both Gambit and Rogue stepped forward.

"Wait," he said, holding his arms out to block them, "Let me go in first. No offense or anythin', but I feel a lot better about gettin' my ass kicked than the two of you."

They nodded and watched him cautiously approach the steel door.

Several loud crashes came from inside the bar. A few of the patrons scrambled out the front door, and the two mutants only stared as they passed them. After several more thuds and crashes, they looked to each other and nodded. They walked calmly into the bar.

"Awww, Logan," Gambit began, "you didn' leave anyt'in' fo' us."

"Sorry," he lamented as he brushed dust off of his clothes, "got caught in the heat of the moment."

"Where's Creed?" Rogue asked darkly.

Logan jerked his head to the side indicating a chair holding the unconscious form of Victor Creed, also known as Sabertooth and never a nice man to deal with.

"Ah'm not even gonna ask how you accomplished that."

"Charm, darlin', charm."

She smiled a little, a sight that was very rare these days. "Let's wake 'em up."

Logan smiled back. He backhanded Sabertooth across the face. "Wake up, ugly."

Victor growled, "Whaddya want runt?"

"Look, Creed, either ya deal with me, or I hand ya over to my friends."

He laughed, "That frail ain't gonna do nothin' t' me! And the Cajun couldn't fight his way outta a paper bag!"

Both Rogue and Remy sneered at him.

"Look, Creed," Logan hissed, "I'm gonna make this simple, tell me what I want to know, or I hand you over to them. And the state they're in, you better be worried."

Victor sighed, "Alright, runt, I'll entertain ya. Waddya wanna know?"

"What do you know about a two year old mutant girl?"

He stared at Logan for a few minutes in disbelief and then suddenly, he started to laugh. "A little girl?! All this trouble for one measly little brat?! You gotta be kiddin' me. You've gone soft, Logan!"

Logan grabbed Victor by the shirt and shoved him against the wall, "I ain't kiddin' Creed. That little girl was kidnapped and so help me if you had anything to do with it, I'll let her mother tear you to shreds!!"

He gave Logan an hard look and then glanced over to Rogue and Remy, "Oh I get it. I never figured you fer the marryin' type Lebeau. Y' think y' know somebody…"

Logan threw him against the wall harder.

"Look, runt, I don't know nothin'! I ain't heard squat about a little girl. You know that ain't my style. I didn't even know those two were married."

Logan dropped him to the floor, "He's all yours, darlin'."

Rogue nodded and placed her hands on either side of his head as she had done with the whimpering man at the other bar. She closed her eyes for a long moment and then stumbled back into Remy.

"You okay, chere?"

"Yeah, that one just took a lot outta me."

"Anyt'in'?"

She shook her head, "He might know where she is, but there's a lot o' empty space up there. Like somebody wiped it clean."

He nodded, "Le's take him back wit' us, see if de Professor can figure anyt'in' out in his head. Maybe piece toget'er what happened."

Logan nodded in agreement and hefted Sabertooth's unconscious form between Remy and himself and dragged him back to their car.

Back at the mansion, Professor Xavier listened intently as the three explained their story.

"That was very dangerous what you did, but I understand why you did it, so you are excused." He chuckled a bit, "Scott was also displeased with you decision, but I think cooler heads prevailed there."

Logan smiled a little.

"Now as for Victor, I am unsure of any progress I can make with him or even if he'll allow it, but for your sake and Lucretia's, I will do what I can. We will find her."

Later that night, Rogue was visited by another mysterious dream. She was in a darkened bar. The air was hazy and dank and smelled of beer and cigars. The music in the background sounded like a funeral dirge. The bar was empty save for a woman in the back, playing pool. She wore stiletto heeled boots with black leather pants and tight red halter top. She had shining black hair down to her back and a pale complexion. A black cigarette hung out of her mouth as she squinted down the pool cue. She sank the eight ball and turned. She held the cue in one hand and the cigarette in the other. She walked closer to Rogue. She smelled like raspberries and smoke. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Find the girl, and get her out of there. The sooner you get away from Xavier the better. Trust me." She leaned in and whispered right into Rogue's ear, "The timeline must remain unaltered," and she vanished in a flash of light.

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Sorry it took me so long to update. You know how these things are. This was a really hard chapter to right, but I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time, review! I mean it! Don't make me sick the minis on you!


	8. Progress

Cris-X: Oh god, anything but that song!!! Ahhhhh!!

Christy-S: Let's just say that Creed's mama always told him there'd be days like this…

Harry: Nobody ever said Creed was smart. He may never learn, but then again, that would take all the fun out of it. =)

Ishandahalf: It's Rogue, Remy, and Logan, what else do they do better than bar-hopping and bar-fighting?

Lucky439: There should be an award for the most enthusiastic reviewer or something, really.

Disclaimer: Three guesses and the first two don't count as to whom it belongs to.

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"Isn't there some sort o' law against this?" Sabertooth demanded.

Xavier steepled his fingers together and smiled at Victor, "Yes, Victor, there is, and normally, I'd obey that law. However, circumstances being what they are, I'm afraid I am going to have to ignore it."

"What?!"

"Let me explain something to you, Victor. A little over two weeks ago, a small child was taken from this house…"

"Look, I'm tellin' you, I didn't steal any brat!!"

"Please, let me continue. Her parents room was trashed, but her room was unharmed. Her babysitter had been heavily drugged. As for who did it, we found your fingerprints everywhere and Logan detected your scent all over the room."

"I told you…"

"I'm not interested in what you think you did, Victor. I want to know what you really did, that's why you're here."

"So whaddya gonna do? Rip through my mind til ya find it?"

"That is my plan."

The color drained completely from Victor's face, "This can't be right."

Xavier shook his head, "No it's not, but that child is a mutant, we have to take care of our own. We have to know."

Gambit and Rogue waited outside Xavier's study. Gambit was pacing impatiently while Rogue stared at the floor. Victor had been taken in there, securely bound to a chair, nearly an hour ago. Every once in a while, the two would stop and look at each other and then go back to their waiting. Two hours later, Xavier called them in.

Victor was passed out in a chair, drool dripping from his mouth. Rogue couldn't help but feel some sort of strange satisfaction.

"Well?" she asked.

Xavier sighed, "His memory was indeed wiped, by whom, I am uncertain, but he was here. He was under orders to obtain the child and harm no one. The mess was caused after he drugged Jean and she tried to fight back. It will take further work to discover who gave him the orders. Before I begin, it will help to know if there is anyone who would want to lash out against you."

Gambit shook his head, "No need. I know who it was, an' I know where t' find him."

"Would you care to enlighten me?"

"Who could you t'ink of dat would take a mutant child from her home, unharmed. Not only dat, but would insist dat whoever she be wit' be unharmed as well. Possibly because he knows who's watchin' de child an' takes great interest in dat particular line?"

"Sinister."

Rogue gripped her chair tightly, causing the arms to crumble under her strength.

"Rogue, chere, I'm sorry, but I got some t'ings t' do. Stay, here, work wit' Xavier t' sort out Creed's head. I promise, I won't do anyt'in' wit'out you, but I can work faster alone. As soon as I find anyt'in', I come get you."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his shoulder. He stroked her hair and lifted her head up. 

"We gonna get her back," he said as he brushed her hair, "We gonna get her back, and den we gonna make Sinister pay." She nodded and hugged him a final time. A few minutes later, she heard the rev of his Harley. She looked out the window and watched him drive out the front gates. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"At least we know one thing, Rogue, she's alive. Sinister won't kill a mutant as powerful as Lucretia, she's too important."

"That's not what Ah'm worried about now Professor. Ah'm worried about what he'll do to her because he won't kill her."

Lucretia opened her eyes. Everything was fuzzy. She tried to roll over but couldn't. She was too heavy. She tried to cry out, but it was muffled by something heavy. Through the cloudiness she could see a figure. She couldn't see it very well, but what she could see scared her. It was very big.

Hundreds of miles away, Rogue's vision suddenly went blurry. She tried to lift an arm to wipe her eyes but couldn't. In fear, she stumbled, and quickly landed on the floor.

"Rogue!" Xavier cried out, "What's wrong?"

She tried to speak, but it felt like there was something over her mouth. 

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. She sat up shakily.

"What happened?"

"Ah'm not sure, it was like, Ah connected with her…she's so scared."

"But she's alright?"

"Ah don't know. Everythin' was so strange. It felt like she was floating."

"Floating?"

"Yeah, Ah think. It was real thick an' heavy, like molasses or sumthin'. She can't move in it. She was so scared."

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Sorry about that guys, but you can pretty much expect cliffhangers for a while. That's just the way it goes. I don't think this story is going to be too much longer. Just not as much to write, I'll have to see. There will be others though, so don't fret. I'm nowhere near done with Lucretia's story. Until next time, review!


	9. Eureka

Ishandahalf: You like molasses? I've never really been a fan of it. I like maple syrup and honey better…mmm syrup and pancakes….

Lucky439: I like the new word, very cool.

Harry: You'd think Sinister would be a tad smarter, wouldn't you? Oh well, should be fun.

Cris-X: You see, I already know this, but there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it! Mwahahahahaaa!!

Disclaimer: *taps her fingers against the desk and stares sternly at the Marvel logo*

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Remy passed out on the hotel bed. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept. He had been running down his contacts for days, and it didn't seem like he was any closer to finding Sinister. He couldn't even remember what town he was in. He pulled the card of matches out of his pocket. St. Louis. Who did he know in St. Louis? He didn't no anyone, wait, no not a single person in all of St. Louis. Then why was he here? That's right, he was on a lead his old buddy Jonny Song, a Chinese gangster from China Town in LA, had given him, said somebody around here would know. Well, nobody here knew anything. He had to move on. What was his next stop? The first place he had gone was London, England, Sinister's old stomping grounds. That didn't work out too well. He stayed in Europe for about a week and then flew back to the states. He had gone to LA, Miami, Houston, and now St. Louis, next he was going to New Orleans to see what the guilds had come up with. It had been two weeks of non-stop traveling. He wanted his little girl back.

Just as he was nodding off, he got a knock at his door. He grumbled something that sounded like 'Just a moment,' and heaved himself out of bed. He pulled on a pair of pants and opened the door; there was no one there. He looked everywhere outside the door and finally looked down. There, on the floor, was a white envelope, addressed to a Monsieur Remington Lebeau.

Rogue awoke from yet another mysterious dream with the same mysterious woman. This time her hair had been short and a man had been with her. He seemed so familiar, but she didn't know why. She couldn't even see his face clearly. He hadn't even spoken. He merely stood by the woman, somewhat protectively. Still, she knew she had met him somewhere before. So focused on his familiarity, that she couldn't remember what the woman had said. She doubted it was important. It was probably another warning about how her daughter was in danger. It was getting old, fast. She didn't need some crazy half-assed dream to tell her that her daughter was in danger. She just wanted this to be over, now. She heard a knock at the window.

It was Gambit, in all his boyish glory. She smiled at his never-ending youth. She opened the window and pulled him into the room, kissing him as she did. She pulled back and looked into his eyes.

"Tell me you found something…"

"I found somet'in'."

Rogue couldn't help, but cry.

Less than a half an hour later, the X-men had assembled in the War Room. Gambit had given the letter to Scott to read to the group.

__

Monsieur Lebeau,

I am contacting you with great danger to myself and those I love most. I am aware of your search for your missing daughter. I assure you, she is safe, but for how long, I cannot say. Your suspicions of Sinister's involvement are indeed correct. However, I am unsure of his intentions. Speed and care is required for the retrieval of your daughter. Sinister owns some land in the Greek isles; you will find her there. The island of Crete. I warn you, the laboratory is heavily guarded. He has eyes everywhere. May you bring your daughter safely home. Take care and good luck.

A Friend

Cyclops set the letter down and sighed. "You realize of course that this could be a trap?"

Gambit shook his head, "I doubt it. Sinister knows I'm lookin' fo' him, he knows I'm comin'. He jus don' know when. He don' need a messenger. He'll be ready fo' us regardless."

Cyclops nodded, "Alright, we'll form two teams. Jean, can you travel?"

Remy stood up, "Non, I be de one pickin' de teams. No offense Scotty, but dis be family. I want people I know I can trust t' watch my back, dat don' t'ink I be a cold blooded murderer."

Rogue stood as well, "Remy, please, we need as much help as we can get!"

He shook his head, "Non, I know dis man better dan any o' you an' I need people dat are gonna listen to what I tell dem, an' sorry Cyclops, you ain' one o' dem. Logan, Stormy, Kurt, Bishop you comin' wit us. As fo' de rest o' you, now you know where you stand."

"What about Jean?" Scott demanded, "You trusted her enough to watch your daughter."

"An' I still do, but no offense t' de Madame, but Jean, you be very pregnant an' you already had yo' ass kicked by dese people once. I don' wanna do anyt'in' t' hurt you or yo' baby."

She nodded, "I understand, Remy. Go get your daughter."

The six mutants boarded the X-Jet, each taking their respective spots on the plane. Logan stopped for a moment by Gambit's chair.

"You mean what you said in there, Cajun? 'Bout not trustin' the rest o' them?"

"Oui, 'cept Beast. Kinda hard to not like a six hundred pound cat, non?"

"I hear ya Cajun," he laughed, "Let's get this show on the road!"

It had been the longest four hours of Rogue's life, but finally, they landed in Crete. It was getting to be late afternoon. Suddenly, a thought struck Rogue.

"Remy, how're we gonna know where this place is?"

He shrugged, "It's Sinister, look fo' somet'in' big, dark, an' high-tech."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Logan grumbled, "this ain't exactly a high industry place."

The others nodded, and true, it wasn't exactly rocket science, but it proved to be more difficult than they had imagined. Sinister was an egotist, priding himself as a mutant genetics genius, but because he was a genius, he wasn't stupid. He was careful not to put up signs saying 'Mad Scientist's Lair Here,' with a flashing arrow pointing to the entrance. He did camouflage the place fairly well, but Remy had gotten used to the way Sinister worked and figured out his location with the first few hours they were there. Now the problem was figuring out a plan of attack. For that, he turned to Logan.

"I'm guessin' he already knows we're here, right Gumbo?"

Gambit nodded.

"Then I don't see why we need to go through all o' this. Let's just charge in there. You said it yourself, he won't hurt her. The only people that are gonna get bruised up is us, and that's a risk I'm willing to take. That all right with everyone?" he asked, looking to each mutant.

Everyone nodded.

"Alright, then in we go."

Sure enough, Sinister had been expecting them. He stood at the main entrance of the laboratory, surrounded by his Murauders, smiling, smugly.

"What took you so long? It feels like I've been waiting here for ages."

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There you have it, go review. Next chapter: Showdown in Crete!


	10. Showdown in Crete

Harry: Patience, all shall fall into place as I see fit. ;) But yeah, Old Sinny is a bit of a jerk, ain't he?

Lucky439: Ask and ye shall receive. Enjoy.

Ishandalf: If any of us were an evil mastermind, we would. There's just something satisfying about telling the good guy where we are and then proceeding to not let him have his way and kicking his ass. I always root for the bad guys (if they're hot of course).

Disclaimer: Ahem…Marvel's

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Sinister was flanked by his Marauders, a cruel grin on his face.

"Remington, my boy, I really did expect better of you. It took you an entire month to find me, and only after a tip from your precious friend Gray Crow. I really am disappointed. I thought I had taught you better," he shook his head.

"You play hide n' seek pretty well, an' I don' remember you teachin' me much o' anyt'in'. Oh, an' I ain' yo boy."

Sinister laughed, "Oh, but aren't you? If it weren't for me, you might very well be a greasy sploch on the pavement. You do remember, I am the one who helped you control your powers. You must at least give me some credit, dear boy."

"I don' have t' give you not'in', but you do have sumt'in' o' mine dat needs t' be given back."

"Oh? And what exactly would that be."

"I t'ink you know."

"Ah, yes, the girl. I'm afraid I'm not through with her, you'll just have to come back later."

"An' I'm afraid dat's not an option."

Sinister let out a mock sigh, "Very well, I'll just have to kill you. Scalphunter, dispose of them."

Gray Crow nodded and beckoned for the other Marauders to move forward while Sinister exited the room, his cape billowing behind him. Gambit turned to Rogue

"Alright, chere, we gonna punch a hole t'rough dem fo' you t' get by. You go find our daughter while we deal wit' dem."

"But Gray Crow, he's your friend right?"

"Not right now, chere, he don' know much o' anyt'in' right now, 'cept fo' what Sinister wants of him."

"I think I get ya, Cajun," Logan chimed in, "None o' these poor bastards know what's going on except what Sinister tells 'em. But he's right, it only takes one of us to go in there and get her, and you're the best candidate. You gonna be alright?"

Rogue nodded, "Just clear a path, Sugah, Ah'll do tha rest."

"Very well," Storm responded, "we shall distract them."

The fists started flying, so to speak. Vertigo pretty much landed everyone on their asses from the start, but she fell out of the fight soon after, done in by her own powers. Logan dodged several shuriken from Riptide and even a spear from Harpoon before smashing Prism into tiny pieces. Now all that was left was the heavy hitters. Rogue grabbed someone by the arm and threw them over her shoulder, smashing them against the wall, she turned on another when Kurt called out to her.

"Rogue, we can handle it from here, go now!"

She nodded and charged forward through the doors Sinister had just exited. It was a maze of corridors. How was she ever going to find Lucretia?"

The girl opened her eyes again. It was still hard to see, but she had learned to get past that. Even as a toddler, she knew what instinct was, and she used it. She used her new found powers to reach out with her senses to realize the world around her. Because of her empathic connection with her family, she could feel their fear and worry. She also knew that they were coming for her. This made her anxious. She tried furiously to move, but without result. Suddenly, she felt her mother, stronger than before. She was here, looking for her. She instinctively concentrated on her anxiousness and amplified it, focusing it towards her mother. The little girl prayed with all her might that it would work, because out of the corner of her eye, she could see the large figure moving towards her again.

Rogue rounded corner after corner, each time meeting a dead end. She wasn't even sure if she was making progress. She could have been just running around in circles, coming to the same dead end every time. She started marking the walls, hoping that she would see she was moving in circles and choose a different turn. Her efforts, however, were not necessary. She turned one corner and was suddenly blasted by a wave of emotion. Fear, anxiety, excitement, all mixed together. It knocked the wind out of her temporarily, but eventually, she adjusted and began to follow it like a trail of breadcrumbs. The closer she got, the stronger the feelings became. She knew she would find her, and everything would be okay.

The battle outside was coming to an end. Only three Marauders were left and Kurt and Storm had been knocked unconscious. That just left Gambit, Bishop, and Logan to face off against Scalphunter, Blockbuster, and Riptide. Logan smiled and cracked his knuckles, this was gonna be fun.

"Care t' dance, ladies?"

"Age before beauty," Riptide spit out.

Logan snorted, "Too bad beauty don' apply t' any o' you ugly mugs. Guess we'll just have to go with age!"

He charged forward, claws extended and started swinging, Gambit and Bishop not far behind. Logan couldn't remember the last time he had had this much fun, but before he knew it, it was over. The three remaining Marauders were now bloody heaps on the floor. Kind of disappointing, really. But, still, they had a job to do. The three X-men ran through the doors and started on Rogue's trail.

Rogue finally reached the main laboratory, greeted with the full emotions of her daughter. She saw her. She was floating in a giant glass cylinder, surrounded by a thick gray substance. A mask was over her mouth and nose, allowing her to breathe. Her eyes were wide open and staring at her. Rogue suppressed a shiver. Unfortunately, she was also greeted by Sinister.

He sighed, "You people are really interfering with my plans. You have no manners whatsoever."

"Sorry, sugah, Ah didn' really have a proper upbringin', if ya know what Ah mean."

"Yes child, I do. Now, down to business. You want your daughter, correct?"

She nodded.

"And all I want is to find out the full range of her powers."

"Sorry, that won't cut it. Let her go, an' Ah won't bruise you up too badly."

He laughed softly, "I'm sure you won't."

Rogue lunged forward with all of her might and Sinister grabbed her by the throat, lifting her inches above the floor. She gasped for air against his force and pulled at his hand.

"This is what I mean," he laughed, "always interfering. I'm afraid you've lost all usefulness to me child. I really am sorry. You were an unexpected surprise for me. It is truly unfortunate things had to end this way."

Rogue tried to gasp out a nasty retort, but found her throat wouldn't open far enough to allow sound to escape. She started to black out. Her vision started to fade. Suddenly, she was somewhere else. She was back in the bar, with the black-haired woman, still puffing on the black cigarette. She pulled the it away from her mouth.

"I told you to protect them. Now would be a good time to open the other box I gave you."

"What?"

The woman raised an eyebrow, "You actually spoke?" She ground out the cigarette, "You must be getting too familiar with this world." She shrugged, "You don't need me anymore anyways. Let the old powers resurface within you. They're yours now anyways. Ms. Danvers wouldn't be able to use them even if she wanted them back. They are a part of you, you've ignored them for too long. Now would be a good time, you don't have long." The woman turned back to her pool game, and the bar started to fade. Right before it vanished completely, she saw the man again. He had crystal blue eyes.

Rogue suddenly came to, and gripped at Sinister's hand with renewed vigor. She remembered everything the woman had said and reached down to find the powers she had taken from Carol Danvers when she was Ms. Marvel. She felt the strength flowing through her. Her throat expanded and fresh air coursed into her lungs. She gave a good tug on Sinister's hand and pulled it away from her neck and then proceeded to bend his arm the wrong way. He snarled at her and gave a good blow to her ribcage with his free hand.

"You forget, my dear, that I am immortal, and therefore cannot be harmed! I am also a shape shifter and can bend my body anyway I see fit!"

"Ah'll try an' remember that next time Ah try and rip yoah head off!" She charged again at full speed, hitting him full on in the chest and knocking him backwards into Lucretia's tank.

"You ought to be more careful, child. If that tank ruptures, you could very well kill your precious daughter!"

In fury, Rogue charged him again, fists blazing. She clocked him good once in the jaw and again to the other side. Then she brought her knee up and smashed him between the legs. While he was bent over, she grabbed by the back of this suit and threw him against the wall.

Gambit, Logan, and Bishop ran through the maze, Logan hot on Rogue's scent. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of Rogue's brawl with Sinister.

"Sounds t' me like Rogue be havin' all de fun, non?"

"Well, let's get there before she has too much."

"Oui, lead de way mon ami."

Lucretia watched the fight from the confines of her tank. Everything was a too blurry for her to tell exactly what was going on, but she knew that her Mamman was really giving the bad man a hard time. She wanted to help her mother. She wanted to be outside, with her. She wanted to see her Pappa, she wanted to go home. So she decided, that outside the glass was the place to be, so she pushed. She pushed against the glass with the powers the dark man had shown her. She felt the field around her expand and she faintly heard the glass begin to crack.

Sinister turned from punching Rogue in surprise. "No child!" He stood up straight and moved to run to the tank. Rogue grabbed him by the back of his shirt just in time to see the glass around her daughter shatter. The glass exploded everywhere, covering everything in sight. Instinctively, Rogue used Sinister as a shield. The deranged man was practically sliced to ribbons by the shards. She dropped him in disgust and screamed at what she saw.

Remy heard Rogue scream and pushed past Logan, following the sound of her voice. He rounded corner after corner, hoping he wasn't too late. He rounded a final corner, and stopped. He couldn't believe his eyes. He fell to his knees. 

Rogue sat there, in the middle of the floor, cradling their daughter in her arms. There was blood on the floor. The little girl was bleeding badly, her wetsuit cut to pieces. Tears streaked down Rogue's face as she clutched the toddler's hand.

"Mamman," the little girl whispered. Rogue let out a loud sob and clutched the little girl closer to her, it was the first word she had ever spoken.

At that moment, Bishop and Logan rounded the corner.

"Cajun, what's goin' on?"

"My god," Bishop whispered.

Suddenly, Rogue's head snapped towards them, her eyes wide. "Logan, come here," she whispered, there was a fire in her eyes. While Bishop and Remy stared on in disbelief, Logan walked slowly towards Rogue and kneeled beside her. Lucretia's breath had grown faint, almost nonexistent.

"What is it, darlin'?"

"Ah'm sorry about this, Logan," she muttered as she raised a bare hand to his face, "but Ah need yoah powers." 

She watched, blankly, for a moment as Logan slumped to the floor, then turned her attention back to her daughter. Catching on to what Rogue was doing, Remy stood, griping the door jam for support.

"Dat's it, chere, it just might work!"

"Gambit, what are you talking about?" Bishop demanded.

"Shhh, she need t' concentrate."

Rogue placed a hand on her daughter's face and tried to absorb her memories, praying silently as she did. Finally, she felt Lucretia pull back. A smile broke on her face.

"That's right, sugah, use his powers. Heal yourself," and as she said that, the wounds on her body began to close and heal. Rogue looked excitedly at Remy who rushed over to her and picked the two up, hugging them tightly, laughing as he did.

From the floor, Logan groaned, "What happened?"

Rogue laughed, "We'll explain on th' way, Logan."

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See, no cliffhanger this time. You love me right? You do, I know you do. Now go review and I'll start on the next chapter.


	11. Settling Back In

Lucky439: Here's more.

Buckster: And where have you been? I get one review from you about 8 or so chapters ago and all the sudden you show up again? What's your game, huh? *glares*

Harry: That's what you think!

Ishandahalf: Yes, yes they are.

T.: The same goes for you. Where exactly have you been, hmm? I'd like to know.

Disclaimer: Marvel owns it all, that's right, the whole thing, so don't even ask.

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Logan looked back from his seat on the Blackbird. Rogue, Remy, and Lucretia were all asleep. He smiled to himself. If anyone deserved a little rest, they did. Lucretia was curled up in her mother's lap who slept leaning against Remy's shoulder. It was cute, he would never tell anyone that, but it was cute. He turned back around and watched the stars fly by.

"So what do you think, mein Freund? Do you think he's gone for good?"

He shrugged, "Dunno, Elf. He might, he might not be. We should keep on our toes regardless."

He simply could not remember a time when he had felt worse. Every single part of him ached, if that was possible. That little brat had done a lot of damage. Sinister pulled one of his fingers out from under a shard of glass and sighed. This had not gone well at all. Scalphunter poked his head around the corner.

"Do you want us to go after them?"

He shook his head, "No, there's no point. They don't need to know I'm still here. Not yet. Let them find out in time. Besides, I need time to heal. I can't take another all out fight right now."

"So what do you want us to do?"

"Nothing. We will do nothing. If I know Remington, he'll hide her away and protect her with his life. No, we will not make another move against them. I shall wait for her to come to me."

"She'll do that?"

"When she's old enough, she will. She won't have a choice, trust me."

The Blackbird touched down in the hanger, shaking the three awake. The team exited the plane and noticed there was no one to meet them. Logan cast a wry grin back at Remy, who smirked and gave a shrug.

"Well, Meine Freunden, it appears that our fearless leader holds a grudge, ja?"

"Looks like it, Elf," Logan said as he slapped him on the back. "Who's up for a nice, late night, fatty breakfast? I'll cook."

The others couldn't help but agree, even Storm, who normally went for the whole fruit breakfast.

They reached the kitchen to find Jean and Hank already cooking furiously. Beast merely gave them a wide, toothy grin and indicated that they should sit in the dinning room and wait for them.

"It appears that not everyone agrees with Cyclops on this," Ororo remarked. Rogue smiled.

At one point, Jean stuck her head in, "Umm, Rogue, what does Lucretia normally eat for breakfast?"

Rogue glanced at her daughter to find her trying vainly to catch Nightcrawler's tail, "Just give her a bowl o' dry cheerios or sumthin'. Ah doubt she's gonna wanna eat anythin' though. It's way past her bedtime."

"Oh, I think she will," Logan smiled, "you three slept the whole way here."

Rogue sighed, "It's gonna take forever fo' her to get back to a normal sleepin' schedule now."

The team laughed. It was nice to have everything back to normal again, after a fashion of course. Things would be hard for Gambit and Rogue now that Remy had singled out those he distrusted. Still, it was nice.

Beast and Jean chose that moment to enter the dining room with hot food and cold drinks.

"Smells wonderful," Bishop remarked.

"Course it does, Jeanie made it," Logan winked at her. Hank glared at him, "With help o' course," he chuckled.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Logan," Jean smiled at him.

Logan simply smiled back and dug into a plate of sausages.

Rogue, on the other hand, was not enjoying herself much. She was trying, without any luck, to get her daughter to eat.

"Come on, Lucretia, you gotta eat sumthin'. Heaven only knows what Sinister gave you. Come on, it's cheerios, yoah favorite," she sighed. "Remy, you try."

"I t'ink you were right. She not gonna eat anyt'in'. She prolly still tired. I'll take her up t' bed, oui?"

Rogue nodded, "Ah'll be up in a few."

"You know, as soon as the three of you have resettled, I'd like to take a look at her. If that's alright?"

"Sure, Hank, no problem." Rogue finished what was on her plate, put it in the sink in the kitchen, and left to go upstairs. It had been a long month.

Two days later, Rogue took Lucretia to see Hank.

"Ah, there's our little celebrity. How is she?" he asked as he pulled her from her mother's arms to get a closer look, "She's lost weight…"

Rogue nodded solemnly, "She's not eatin'. She's barely eaten anythin' since we brought her home."

"I see, and how is she sleeping?"

"She gets about an hour or two a day, if that. She wakes up the middle of the night an' just starts cryin'. We try everythin' to calm her down, but nothin' works. We can't leave her alone either. If she's left alone with anyone but me, Remy, or Logan, she panics. She can't stand it. As soon as we leave the room, she starts cryin' again. Ah've even tried havin' her sleep in our room, but she still doesn't get enough sleep. Ah don't know what to do."

"Well, it seems that she's suffering from post traumatic stress, as strange as that seems. She's been through quite a bit in the last few weeks and unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to help her. I know plenty about the human brain, but nothing of the mind…"

"The Professor, then?"

Hank nodded, "If anyone can help, he would be the one."

Rogue let out a long sigh, but took her to Xavier. She explained everything to him and waited patiently as he considered what she had told him. Finally he spoke.

"Do you think she would mind if I scanned her mind?"

"Ah don't think so."

He nodded and did a light scan of the girl's mind. "Her thoughts center around her ordeal with Sinister."

"Ah know, Ah've tried to calm her down, tell her everythin's alright, but she won't listen."

He looked at her questioningly, but nodded. "I'm afraid the only option is to regress the memories, until she's old enough to understand."

"You mean hide the truth from her?"

"I wouldn't put it so harshly, but yes. She's too young for anyone to explain to her what happened. It isn't the best course of action, but it's the only one we have available to us right now."

"Ah don't know, Ah need t' talk t' Remy."

"I don' like it," he said from the doorway, "but if it means she'll start eatin' an' sleepin' again, den it's acceptable."

Rogue turned, "Yoah sure, Remy?"

"No, but what choice we got?"

She hung her head, "Not a whole lot. Ahright professor, do it, but you better let me hold her hand at least, or she'll never hold still long enough foah you."

He nodded and sat Lucretia in his lap while Rogue moved next to them. In moments it was done and Lucretia was fast asleep.

"You'll have to let me know how it worked when I get back."

"Get back? Where're you goin'?"

"They are trying to pass a mutant registration act in Washington this week in response to all the terrorist action being taken by both sides. I am going to go and express my views on the situation."

"Well, then, good luck."

"Thank you, Rogue, Remy…"

A few days later, the X-men decided to gather in the recroom to watch the telecast. Rogue and Remy were getting ready to join them.

"Ah just think she'd be safer away from here, that's all."

Gambit sighed for what seemed to be the umpteenth time, "I know, chere, but all I'm sayin' is dat maybe de guild not be de best place fo' her."

"An' why not? You're always tellin' me how no one would dare move against the whole guild! If that's true, she's safer with them!"

"I'll t'ink about it. But, Rogue, you know as soon as we take her dere, she's gonna have t' start livin' dat life. It ain' a good life."

"It's a risk Ah'm willin' t' take, Remy. Even if it ain't a good life, it's still life, an' it just might mean that she lives that much longer. She's in danger here!"

"I'll t'ink about it, alright. Let's go down and watch the news wit' de ot'ers."

The three came downstairs and joined the others in the recroom, sitting on the side with Kurt and Logan. The group was talking quietly amongst themselves until the newscast came on. Several 'shhs' could be heard around the room.

"Today," the reporter began, "we join the U.S.'s best and brightest here in Washington to discover the fate of the long running Mutant Registration Act. The act has been bouncing around Congress for years, but today shall determine whether or not it is passed or exterminated forever. As many of our viewers know, recent events with human and mutant terrorist organizations have caused it to resurface. The Act would allow the United States government to identify and register all mutants born after June 1st of 2000. Each registered mutant would then be required to carry a special ID card describing their abilities, family history, education, and criminal history. The real question here today is: 'Will the Act bring an end to the terrorist activities and bring peace to our community?' To answer that question, the U.S. government has assembled some of the most well-known mutant and human spokespeople...Hold on, Dave, I'm being told that they have ended their deliberations and are ready to make the announcement. We now take you inside Congress."

"Ladies and gentlemen, our situation is not one to be taken lightly. Repeatedly, terrorists have torn apart our cities and murdered our people. We will stand for this no longer. In response to these actions, this Congress has agreed that the Mutant Registration Act be passed in order to calm…"

Cyclops turned off the TV. Immediately, the room exploded into conversation. Rogue gave Remy a hard look. He nodded and sighed, letting his head hang. They had no choice. Lucretia was simply not safe in the Mansion.

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Okay, one more chapter for this story, and then it's done. Don't worry, the overall story is far from over. I still have things to do with these characters. Trust me. So go review, and I'll have the last chapter up soon, promise.


	12. Somewhere You Feel Free

T., Lucky439: And so the wait is over.

Cris-X: Sorry, no can do. I very rarely take requests and that one interferes with my plans.

Harry: Today's your lucky day, ain't it?

Ishandahalf: W00t! You get a cookie and a Mountain Dew or other carbonated beverage that you prefer.

Disclaimer: Guess! Go on guess! I dare you! Oh, and I don't own anything by Tom Petty and the Wildflowers.

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****

You belong, among the wildflowers.

You belong in a boat out at sea.

Now boarding, American Airlines flight 436 to New Orleans, LA. Calling all specially designated and first class passengers. Please have your boarding pass and id ready.

****

Sail away, kill off the hours

You belong somewhere you feel free.

Xavier's car pulled up the front drive of the Institute. There was no one at the door to greet him. He expected it, of course. Especially after the last few days events. He did however, look forward to checking on Lucretia's well-being.

****

Run away, find you a lover

Go away somewhere all bright and new.

Remy put their carry on luggage in the overhead compartment and settled down next to Rogue and Lucretia. The now very energetic toddler had engrossed herself in the tray on the back of the seat in front of her. He smiled. It was good to have things back to normal.

****

I have seen no other

Who compares to you.

As the Professor approached the front doors of the mansion, the feelings of tension and unease grew immeasurably. This was not going to be easy. He stepped in through the doors and noticed immediately that a large number of his X-men had gathered in the rec room.

****

You belong among the wildflowers.

You belong in a boat out at sea.

Gambit gripped Rogue's hand and squeezed it slightly. They were all strapped in and the flight attendant was going through the final safety procedures before take off. They were almost free. Lucretia squirmed impatiently in her belt and made a face. Gambit and Rogue laughed.

****

You belong with your love on your arm.

You belong somewhere you feel free.

Xavier reached the rec room and noticed that they were all gathered around something. He moved closer and noticed it was a piece of paper. Jean looked up at him and walked away, shaking her head. Kurt, who appeared to be reading the letter for the hundereth time, finished and handed it to him. He teleported out immediately after.

****

Run away, go find a lover.

Run away, let your heart be your guide.

The plane finally touched down in Louis Armstrong airport in New Orleans. The three mutants gathered there luggage and exited the plane. They were greeted by nearly the entire guild. Lucretia jumped from her mother's arms and ran down the ramp screaming, "Grampa!" Jean-Luc knelt down to the floor to sweep her into his arms. "Dere's ma fleur sauvage!" he exclaimed.

****

You deserve the deepest of cover.

You belong in that home by and by.

Xavier read the note:

Dearest friends and teammates,

Due to recent events, we feel that it is no longer to raise our family here in the Institute. We're sure you understand. We're taking Lucretia somewhere that we're sure that she'll be well protected. You probably already know where that is. You are all welcome in our home at anytime. Please feel free to visit.

Sincerely,

Rogue and Remington Lebeau

****

You belong among the wildflowers.

You belong somewhere close to me.

"Y' know Remy, I really am glad dat de two o' you finally decided to move down here. Dough, I wish it had been sooner. We might o' been able t' avoid all dis."

Remy nodded, "Maybe, but all de same, we here now. She gon' be brought up proper in de guild, oui?"

Jean-Luc nodded back, "Oui, we train her in all de skills of t'ievin' an assassination, like you asked."

Remy sighed, "Good, she gonna need it."

****

Far away from you trouble and worry,

You belong somewhere you feel free.

Xavier sighed and rubbed his eyes. He had really hoped that this wouldn't happen, but they were doing what they thought was best for the girl. He just hoped they didn't regret it.

****

You belong somewhere you feel free.

~Five years later~

Lucretia skipped ahead of her parents, stopping periodically to turn and stick out her tongue at her four year old brother who was holding hands with her father and mother. Nicholas Jean-Luc Lebeau was born shortly after they arrived in New Orleans. He had his father's red on black eyes, but his mother's auburn and white hair. He also inherited his father's abilities of turning an object's potential energy into kinetic energy. Their house was testimony. Every once in a while, Nicky would lose control and blow something up, much to the dismay of her parents. She thought he was a little brat, because he always got away with it. That didn't matter today, though. They were in Geneva, Switzerland, visiting family. She skipped up the steps of the hospital and waited patiently for her parents and little brother. They reached the top of the steps and she obediently took her mother's hand as they walked inside. Her mother stopped briefly to confer with the woman at the front desk who pointed towards the elevator and indicated she go up four stories. They entered the elevator and pressed the number four. They reached their destination and turned to or three times, Lucretia really wasn't paying attention, she was counting doors and people. Finally, they stopped to be greeted by a loud gasp of excitement.

"Oh Rogue!" the voice exclaimed, "what beautiful children!"

At the sound of a compliment, Lucretia turned her head to see a tall red haired woman with blue skin and yellow eyes. She let go of her mother's hand and stepped forward.

"Bonjour, grandmamman," she smiled.

"And so charming. Please, come sit."

The five of them took their seats at a table.

"I'm really glad you could come, Rogue, really. Also a little surprised after what happened on Muir Island."

"Well, you know what they say Mamma, 'Forgiveness is divine.'"

"Yes, well I suppose it is. I've missed so much. You have to tell me everything!"

Rogue couldn't help but smile. She started to recount everything about the children's births and their first words and so on and so on. Eventually, Lucretia go extremely bored and decided to go explore. Nobody had told her she couldn't, so she guessed it was alright. She took one turn and then another and another, like it was a giant maze. Finally, she ran out of turns to take and came upon a large white room. There were people shrieking and muttering to themselves. Some would lash out suddenly and then go back to the way they were like nothing had happened. Lucretia suddenly became very scared. She had no idea where she was and no idea how to get back the way she came. She just stood there and cried. At first, no one noticed, but then, someone approached her. Scared, she pulled back.

"Shh, it's alright child," the voice soothed. It was rich and accented. She liked the sound of it. She turned to look at its owner. He was an elderly man in a wheelchair with a friendly smile and crystal blue eyes. She took his outstretched hand.

"Now tell me, little one, how did you get here?"

"I was wit' my Mamman an' Pappa. Dey were talkin' to my Grandmamman, but I got bored an' wanted to look around, but I got lost," she started to cry again.

"It's alright, there's no need to cry. We shall find your parents."

It felt good to Rogue to finally be able to reconcile with her foster mother. After everything that had happened, it was nice to be able to sit down and talk to her. Just as everyone needed a father, everyone needed a mother as well.

"Lucretia is very special," Mystique continued, "but I can sense that you fear it. Not her necessarily, but what it could mean for her. But let me tell you, she can take care of her self, don't worry about that. Just love her and the rest will take care of itself," she smiled. Rogue knew that Mystique knew something and wasn't sharing. Probably something she had read in the Destiny's Diaries. She really didn't care. The words of reassurance was all she needed. She reached beside her to give her daughter a hug and noticed that she wasn't there. She panicked. She looked to Remy.

"What's wrong chere?"

"Lucretia, she isn't back yet. Ah thought she left t' go t' the bathroom or sumthin', but she ain't here."

Mystique took one of her hands, "She probably just got lost, I wouldn't worry. This is a big place. Someone will find her."

Rogue looked back to Remy and he nodded, "I go find her, you stay here, chere."

"I'm sure she's fine," Mystique reassured her again.

Rogue shook her head, "You don't understand Mamma…she was taken from us once."

Mystique's eyes narrowed, "You got her back though?"

"Yeah, but it's not sumthin' Ah wanna repeat."

"Remy will find her, he's a good man. I had always hoped something would come of you two, you know. He's always been so good to you."

Rogue blushed a little. She felt a tug at her shirt, it was Nicky.

"Mamman," he began, "I t'ink she back." Rogue looked at him and then at the door. She was standing beside a wheelchair-ridden man. Rogue rushed to her and snatched her up.

"What were you thinkin', Lucretia? You coulda been hurt, or worse! You beg us fo' weeks an' weeks an we go through all this trouble just so you can meet yoah grandma and you go an' run off! Don't you evah scare me like that again!"

Lucretia only pouted, "I'm sorry Mamman, but I met a really nice man. He brought me back t' you."

Rogue turned to thank him and gasped. There was no way, it couldn't be. She had seen him die, had heard of the destruction of Genosha by Casandra Nova. She just stood there, speechless. Suddenly, Gambit came back.

"I couldn't find…oh dere she is! You scared us, petite! You…Rogue, chere, why you starin' at dis poor homme? He de one dat bring Lu back? I'd like t' t'ank you monsieur." He walked around to face him and shake his hand, but stopped. "Mon Dieu…"

The elderly man just smiled in response to their stares, oblivious to their shock. "It was no problem really, she was just lost. I should go back now." Just then, a large nurse rounded the corner.

"Eric!" she scolded him, "What are you doing here? Come on now, it is almost time for your medication."

"How nice," he mused absently, a smile on his face.

"I am really sorry if he has bothered you. He has been known to wander. Well, good day to you." And they were gone.

"I wouldn't worry about him either, Rogue," Mystique laughed. Rogue turned to face her mother. "They keep him on so many medications, he really doesn't know who or where he is anymore. He lives in a kind of daze. He's harmless now."

Rogue and Gambit nodded sheepishly to this news. This was unsettling. Eric Magnus Lensherr, alias Magneto, was still alive. The arch nemesis of the X-men and all of humanity still lived and breathed.

"But he hurts so much!" Lucretia piped in, "His mind's full of hurt!" Tears streamed down her face.

Mystique moved to wipe a tear from the little girl's face, "It's really alright. All will be well," she smiled. With the contact, Lucretia's eyes brightened to a pale yellow and her skin blued slightly. Mystique was taken aback, "A truly remarkable child," she remarked.

"Yes," Rogue responded, "she is. It was good seein' you Mamma."

"You too, Rogue. Take care." Silently, she whispered to Lucretia, "I'll be seeing you soon," and with that she turned and went back to the orderlies at the other side of the room and back to her cell.

Lucretia continued crying the entire trip home. Both Gambit and Rogue tried unsuccessfully to calm her.

"She's just upset from a long day," Rogue guessed, "she'll be better when we get her home."

Gambit nodded, "And what about Magneto?"

"Ah think it'd be best that we not tell anyone we found him. We don't want another mutant hunt."

"Agreed."

And sure enough, Lucretia fell asleep as soon as they got home and stopped crying after that. In fact, she never cried after that. She took all her memories of that one day, and buried them deep, where no one could touch them. Not even a telepath. She also vowed to make the hurting stop, forever.

****

You belong somewhere you feel free…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And there it is, the whole kit and kaboodle of the second installment in Bear Witness. Give me some time and some reviews and I'll start up on the next one. Promise, cross my heart and hope to die. Well maybe not die, but definitely cross my heart. 


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